R14m robbery trial: cops ready
2008-07-16 21:01
Johannesburg - Police and the prosecution are ready for the trial resulting from the 2006 multi-million-rand airport robbery, which starts in two weeks.
Gauteng police spokesperson Eugene Opperman said on Wednesday: "Investigators and the prosecutor in the case against 12 people who carried out an armed robbery on an SAA cargo plane at the O R Tambo Airport on March 25 2006 say that they are all ready for the trial.
The hearing starts at the Johannesburg High Court on July 28.
Close to R14m in foreign currency was stolen during the robbery.
"Excellent police investigations led to the arrest of several suspects of which 15 people were formally charged for the robbery at the airport.
"However, two of the 15 accused died of natural causes while they were out on bail. Another accused skipped bail," said Opperman.
He said all witnesses in the airport case were ready to testify.
Opperman said investigations revealed that the gang of thieves who stole some of the recovered money at the Benoni police station on May 25 2006 had nothing to do with the initial robbery at the airport.
"The thieves who broke into a safe at the police station merely saw the opportunity to steal the recovered money for their own use."
- SAPA